Videos of NASA Supper Guppy delivering Space Shuttle Trainer

The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy is a large, wide-bodied cargo aircraft used for ferrying outsized cargo components. It was the successor to the Pregnant Guppy, the first of the Guppy aircraft produced by Aero Spacelines. Five were built in two variants, both of which were colloquially referred to as the “Super Guppy.”

The last produced Super Guppy remains in service; a Super Guppy Turbine (SGT) version with with high-performance Allison 501-D22C turboprops flown by NASA (currently used to ferry components for the International Space Station and Project Orion). It is stationed in and operated from Ellington Field in Houston, Texas.

The other four are mothballed; one at Pima Air and Space Museum, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, United States, the first SGT, which has recently begun a restoration project, at Bruntingthorpe, United Kingdom, the second outside Airbus’ factories at Blagnac Airport, Toulouse, France, and the third at Finkenwerder, Germany.

Get ‘Aviation Overload’ with the Complete Wings & Airpower 4 DVD Set

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force will be getting a Crew Compartment Trainer that NASA used to prepare astronauts for their space shuttle missions. Learn about the move and some challenges that have come up.

This time-lapse video from Aug. 20 2012, shows the Crew Compartment Trainer as it is loaded into NASA’s Super Guppy aircraft at Ellington Field.